Alberta Security Guard Practice Test (ABST)

This Alberta security guard practice test is built for one job: getting you past the provincial final exam that follows Alberta Basic Security Training (ABST). The format, the topics and the pass mark below come from the Government of Alberta and the province's own exam documents, checked in October 2026. Where the province does not publish something, we say so instead of guessing.

You can start right now with the free 20-question ABST diagnostic, which shows which modules you are weakest on in about 20 minutes. When you are ready for a full sitting, take free ABST mock exam 1. Canada Licence Prep is an independent study aid. It is not run by, approved by or affiliated with the Government of Alberta or any training provider.

What the ABST provincial exam looks like

Every security service worker in Alberta (security guards, loss prevention workers, alarm responders, patrol dog handlers and bodyguards) must either complete an approved basic course and pass the provincial final exam, or hold a valid security licence from another Canadian province or territory. The rules are set under the Security Services and Investigators Act and its regulations, and the exam is run for Security Programs, the branch that licenses security workers.

Exam facts at a glance

Item	What we know (checked October 2026)	Source
Course before the exam	Alberta Basic Security Training or an Accredited Basic Security Training course, at least 40 hours, from an approved provider	alberta.ca security service worker licence
Pass mark	80% or higher	alberta.ca; provincial exam process handout
Number of questions	Not published by the province	No official source states it
Time limit	Not published by the province	No official source states it
Who supervises	A Ministry proctor or a Ministry-certified independent proctor, at the training provider's site	SSIA provincial examination process
Rewrites	As many as you need, within 2 years of the start of your course; providers may charge a fee	Exam process handout
Results	Grades to your provider within about 2 business days; certificate emailed within a week of the province receiving the training report	alberta.ca
Cheating	Zero tolerance; you become ineligible for a licence	Exam process handout
Grade review	Written request within 30 days of a failing-grade notice	Exam process handout
Language	English only	alberta.ca (English fluency at Canadian Language Benchmark 5 is a licence requirement)

The exam process handout dates from 2015, and the current alberta.ca page is consistent with it on the 80% rule but gives no further detail. If anything has changed by the time you book, your provider or Security Programs (1-877-462-0791) will know.

Key fact: The 80% pass mark is the official figure. Any page that gives you an exact question count for the Alberta exam is repeating an unofficial number. Prepare for the content, not for a number.

How our ABST mock exam is built

Because the real length is unpublished, we picked a format that is long enough to cover every module and hard enough to be honest about your readiness:

Our mock	Setting
Questions	60 multiple choice, 4 options each
Timer	60 minutes
Pass	48 of 60 (80%)
Feedback	Score by topic, then a written explanation for every question
Question bank	1,354 Alberta security questions

If you can score 48 or more on our mocks under the timer, you are working at the provincial standard. If you sit at 42 to 46, you are close but you would be gambling on the day.

The seven ABST modules and how they show up on the exam

The provincial participant manual (third edition) organizes the 40-hour course into seven modules. The exam draws from all of them. Here is what each module covers, where candidates usually lose marks, and where to drill it in our practice tool.

Module 1: Introduction to the security industry

This module explains who security professionals are, the settings they work in, and how Alberta licenses them. Expect questions on the licence classes, the role of the Registrar, licence portability, and conduct expectations such as honesty, sobriety on duty and confidentiality.

The Alberta-specific rule that catches people: under the Security Services and Investigators Act you may not call yourself a "security officer", "protection officer", "law enforcement officer" or "private detective", or suggest in any way that you are one. Many people assume "security officer" is a harmless job title. On the Alberta exam it is a prohibited one.

Drill it: introduction to the security industry and licensing and conduct rules. The full rules are in our Alberta licensing study note.

Exam tip: A licence is personal. It moves with you between employers, but it cannot be transferred to another person, and it never gives you police or peace officer powers.

Module 2: The Canadian legal system and security professionals

This is the heaviest legal module and the one most candidates underestimate. It covers the Charter, the Criminal Code, use of force, and other legislation a guard deals with in Alberta.

Key ideas to know cold:

• Where your authority comes from. A guard has the same arrest powers as any citizen, plus the authority an owner gives you as their representative. Nothing more.
• Citizen's arrest under s.494 of the Criminal Code. Anyone may arrest a person they find committing an indictable offence. An owner, or a person the owner authorizes, may arrest someone found committing a criminal offence on or in relation to that property. "Finds committing" means you witnessed the act, not just its result.
• Offence types. Summary conviction (less serious), indictable (more serious) and hybrid (treated as indictable until the Crown chooses).
• After an arrest. Tell the person they are under arrest and why, use only the force that is necessary, inform them of their right to a lawyer, and deliver them to a peace officer as soon as possible.
• Alberta trespass law. The participant manual covers the Trespass to Premises Act and the Petty Trespass Act. In plain terms: notice not to trespass can be given verbally, in writing, or by signs at the normal entrances; the owner or an authorized representative can apprehend a trespasser without a warrant; and anyone other than a peace officer who does so must hand the person to a peace officer as soon as practicable. Check your course material for the current wording, since the manual edition is from 2014.
• Privacy. Alberta's Personal Information Protection Act governs personal information collected by private-sector organizations, including names, ID and video.

Drill it: Canadian legal system, legal authorities: arrest, search, trespass, evidence and use of force theory. The relevant Criminal Code sections are published on the Justice Laws website.

Exam tip: When a legal question gives you a scenario, ask two things in order: did the guard actually see the offence, and is the force described the minimum needed? Most wrong answers fail one of those two tests.

Use of force: a theme that crosses modules

Use of force appears in both Module 2 (the law) and Module 3 (the response), so expect several questions. The core principles:

• Force must be necessary, reasonable and proportionate, and it must stop when the threat stops. Under s.26 of the Criminal Code you are criminally responsible for any excess.
• Self-defence (s.34) and defence of property (s.35) apply to guards exactly as they apply to anyone else.
• The situational use-of-force model is a way to assess and explain a decision, not a ladder you must climb. Presence and communication resolve most incidents, and disengaging to call police is always an option.
• In Alberta, carrying a baton requires your employer's approval and a separate approved 40-hour baton use-of-force course, with recertification every 36 months. Pepper spray is a prohibited weapon for private individuals in Canada.
• Know the medical risks of restraint: positional asphyxia (never keep weight on a person's back or chest) and excited delirium (call emergency medical services).

Our use of force study note walks through the sections and the model with examples.

Module 3: Basic security procedures

This module is practical: observation, patrols, dealing with intoxicated people, the media, traffic control and collision reports, post orders, starting and ending a shift, and working with a partner.

Common exam angles:

• Post orders are the written instructions for your site. Read them every shift and follow the employer's lawful instructions.
• Patrol types. Foot patrols are the most common and use all your senses; vehicle patrols cover large areas but engine noise masks sounds and warns intruders; fixed posts and CCTV have blind spots. Vary your routes and times so patrols are not predictable.
• Media. Do not give statements. Refer reporters politely to the designated spokesperson.
• Traffic control. High-visibility clothing, clear standard signals, and a position where drivers can see you and you have an escape route.
• Substance use. Recognize signs of intoxication, keep your distance, stay calm and call medical help when needed.

Drill it: basic security procedures.

Module 4: Communication for security professionals

Verbal and non-verbal communication, barriers to communication, dealing with uncooperative people and conducting an interview. Questions tend to be scenario-based: a person is shouting at the front desk, what do you do first? The right answer is almost always the one that lowers the temperature: calm tone, open posture, active listening, and a clear explanation of what you need and why.

This module also links to sensitivity and human rights. Alberta's Human Rights Act prohibits discrimination, and the exam expects you to treat everyone with respect regardless of race, religion, disability, gender identity or other protected grounds.

Drill it: effective communications and sensitivity awareness and human rights.

Module 5: Documentation and evidence

Notebooks, statements, reports, evidence and preparing for court. This module produces some of the easiest marks on the exam if you learn the rules, and some of the most frustrating losses if you rely on common sense.

Notebook rule	What the exam expects
Ink	Always ink, legible, chronological
Time	24-hour clock (1430, not 2:30 p.m.)
Blank space	No blank lines; draw a line through unused space
Pages	Never tear out a page
Corrections	One line through the error so it stays readable, your initials, then the correct entry
Content	Facts, not opinions; exact quotes in quotation marks

Reports should answer who, what, when, where, why and how, and they should be accurate, brief, clear, complete, objective and written promptly. For evidence, protect the scene, keep a chain of custody (who found the item, when, where, who handled it, where it was stored), and expect that your notebook may be examined in court.

Drill it: report writing and note taking. Our report writing study note has a full checklist.

Exam tip: If an answer option involves erasing, using correction fluid, or rewriting a page "neatly", it is wrong. Corrections stay visible.

Module 6: Response procedures

Alarm systems, responding to alarms, and emergency scene management. You should know the common intrusion sensors (infrared is the most common), that every alarm is recorded including false alarms, and that your own safety comes first: stay in contact with dispatch and call police rather than entering alone when a crime is suspected.

Emergency questions cover fire classes (water only on Class A), the PASS method for extinguishers, evacuation (no elevators in a fire, prevent re-entry until the all-clear), bomb threats (keep the caller talking, use a checklist) and suspicious packages (do not touch it, clear the area, keep radios and phones away from it).

Drill it: emergency response and emergency first aid awareness.

Module 7: Health and safety for security professionals

Personal safety, identifying hazards and shift work. Expect questions on reporting hazards, workplace rights and duties, hazardous product labels and safety data sheets, and how fatigue from shift work affects judgment. Drill it with health and safety.

Module-to-topic map

ABST module	Practice topics in our tool
1. Introduction to the security industry	Intro to the industry; licensing and conduct
2. Canadian legal system	Legal system; legal authorities; use of force; sensitivity and human rights
3. Basic security procedures	Basic security procedures
4. Communication	Effective communications
5. Documentation and evidence	Report writing; legal authorities (evidence)
6. Response procedures	Emergency response; emergency first aid
7. Health and safety	Health and safety

Why the 80% pass mark changes how you should prepare

Ontario's security guard test passes at 62%. Alberta asks for 80%. On a 60-question paper that is the difference between being allowed to miss 22 questions and being allowed to miss 12. That changes the strategy:

1. Breadth beats depth. You cannot afford a weak module. A diagnostic that shows a 50% score in documentation is a bigger problem than a 75% score in legal authorities, because documentation is easier to fix.
2. Precision matters. Many ABST questions have two answers that sound reasonable. The correct one usually matches the course material exactly: "deliver to a peace officer" rather than "deliver to your supervisor"; "single line through the error" rather than "cross it out".
3. Overshoot in practice. Aim for 90% on practice mocks. Nerves, unfamiliar wording and a quiet exam room cost most people a few points on the day.
4. Learn from explanations, not answer keys. Our explanations say why each wrong option is wrong. That is what helps you when the real exam words the question differently.

How to use this ABST practice test

Free tools

• ABST diagnostic: 20 questions, 20 minutes, with a breakdown by topic. Start here.
• ABST mock exam 1: full 60-question mock at 80%, free.
• Quick practice: 25 questions for a short session.
• Printable questions: the free questions with answers, ready to print or save as a PDF. This is the safest version of the "Alberta security guard test questions and answers PDF" you will find, because it is dated and maintained.
• The sample questions with answers further down this page.

Pro

Pro adds mocks 2 to 10, practice by topic and all study notes for all nine tests on the site, for CA$7.99 a week, CA$12.99 a month or CA$24.99 for three months. You can cancel at any time. The mobile app has the same questions, plus audio and French explanations.

Exam day: what to expect

• Where: at your training provider's facility, under a Ministry proctor or a certified independent proctor.
• Bring: government photo ID and anything your provider asks for. Confirm the time and the room a day before.
• During: no notes, no phone. Read each question twice, especially ones with "not", "except" or "first".
• After: your provider gets your grade within about two business days. If you pass, the province emails your training certificate. If you fail, you can rewrite within two years of starting your course, and you can ask for a grade review in writing within 30 days.

Once you pass, the next step is the licence application itself: three police checks, the application form, documents and the $100 fee. Our guide on how to become a security guard in Alberta covers each step and the costs.

Writing in another province instead?

The ABST is Alberta only. If you are training elsewhere, try the Ontario security guard practice test (60 questions, 62% pass) or the BC security guard practice test for Basic Security Training. Alberta also accepts a valid security licence from another Canadian province or territory instead of the ABST, which is worth knowing if you are moving.

Your study plan

1. Today: take the free ABST diagnostic. Note your two weakest topics.
2. Days 1 to 3: read the ABST exam guide and work through your weakest modules with the topic links above. Read every explanation, including for questions you got right.
3. Day 4: sit mock exam 1 under the 60-minute timer, with no notes. Target 48 out of 60.
4. Days 5 to 6: revisit the topics where you dropped marks, then repeat with fresh mocks until you score 54 or more twice in a row.
5. Before the exam: review notebook rules, s.494 arrest powers, the prohibited titles and fire classes. These are the cheapest marks to protect.

If you want the full bank, the extra mocks and the study notes, see Pro pricing. Either way, start with the diagnostic: it takes 20 minutes and tells you exactly where to spend the rest of your week.